Everything You Need to Know About Stoppage Time for the 2018 World Cup

So you've gotten bored of mid-season baseball and have opted to join the rest of humanity in watching the greatest sporting event in the world, the 2018 World Cup. But since you've ignored the beautiful game until this critical juncture, your head is likely swimming in a sea of questions. Of the perplexing issues currently floating through your puny non-soccer mind, the question of stoppage time might come to the fore.

"What is stoppage time, man?" you might ask, scratching your head. "If the game is technically over, why are they still playing?" you might say, with your eyes crossed.

Rest assured, soccer neophyte. Here, we'll explain why the clock keeps ticking for a few extra minutes at the end of each half.

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What is stoppage time in soccer?

Because there's no time allotted for Bud Light commercials and the advertising fare that clogs up most American sports broadcasts, soccer games consist of 90 straight minutes of unfettered gameplay. But, that gameplay is almost always interrupted by injuries, substitutions, and the occasional rogue pitch invader.

That means, to account for the unforeseen stoppages in play, a few minutes are added at the end of each half. Longer stretches are usually tacked on to the end of the game, typically resulting in an extra three or four minutes on top of the standard 90.

But, the extra time always reflects the interruptions that occur in a game. So, if a game sees multiple players carried off in stretchers, followed by substitutions, followed by a cheeky goalkeeper biding his time during a goal kick, you might see five or six minutes added.

If a game is particularly frenetic and chaotic and sees a crazy amount of interruptions, stoppage time still adds up proportionally. One famous example was a 2001 lower-division match between English teams Brentford FC and Bristol City, in which a string of mishaps saw 23 minutes of stoppage time added to the first half alone.

Find out where to watch the World Cup games with all the soccer fans in your city with our list of the best World Cup bars in NYC, LA, SF, Chicago, DC, Miami, Houston and more.

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Sam Blum is a News Staff Writer for Thrillist. He's also a martial arts and music nerd who appreciates a fine sandwich and cute dogs. Find his clips in The Guardian, Rolling Stone, The A.V. Club and Esquire. He's on Twitter @Blumnessmonster.